Converting a Basta Comet II Halogen to CREE XP-G

[pe2er]

I Would like to introduce my latest project; Converting an Axa-Basta Comet II Halogen to an Axa-Basta Comet III CREE XP-G.

To start at the end; this is what the Axa-Basta Comet II Halogen looks like after the conversion:

The internals of the light after modification. I Have removed the old halogen light including reflector, and replaced it with an aluminum plate. The old 5mm LEDs are transferred to the new mounting plate and connected to the switch PCB with wires instead of the contact springs that it came with. A Dealextreme SKU 3256 driver (800mA) finds a new home in the place where the Halogen light bulb used to be,

On the other side, a CREE XP-G R4. I Made an error ordering one - without a MCPCB. I Had some problems mounting it, but I finally solved it using some copper foil and epoxy resin.

A Dx SKU 1920 lens is glued on top of the XP-G, also using the same 5 minute epoxy.

And this is what it looks like in my garden; more and brighter light than the original Halogen bulb.


This is the current drawn from the 4 AA Alkaline batteries:


Position - Halogen - XP-G
Hi - 400 mA - 500 mA
Med - 250 mA - 250 mA
Lo - 50 mA - 50 mA

In position Lo, only the two 5mm LEDs are illuminated.

 

[syc]

Cool - I love seeing old lights rejuvenated with modern components!

 

[panicmechanic]

That's a nice build! If you're happy with it, don't change it.
Just one thought: I have tested your combination, and the lens you are using did not perform well with the XP-G. In fact, when I hung an XR-E R2 in series to an XP-G R4, both with same current obviously, the light output was best out of the XR-E with these optics on both LEDs.
The XP-G does better with a Ledil LXP optic. The 6° lens will be more like 10° on the XP-G (6° is true if you're using the XP-E), which is just fine for me.

 

[pe2er]

Cool - I love seeing old lights rejuvenated with modern components!

That's a nice build! If you're happy with it, don't change it.

Thank you, I am

Just one thought: I have tested your combination, and the lens you are using did not perform well with the XP-G. In fact, when I hung an XR-E R2 in series to an XP-G R4, both with same current obviously, the light output was best out of the XR-E with these optics on both LEDs.
The XP-G does better with a Ledil LXP optic. The 6° lens will be more like 10° on the XP-G (6° is true if you're using the XP-E), which is just fine for me.

Thank you for taking the effort to compare I Knew in advance that this combination would not be the optimal solution. I just happened to have these lenses lying around. So you may have guessed that I will not change it. But it is good information for other DIYers attempting a similar conversion.

I Previously planned on upgrading the CREE Q5 WC in my SuperFire W-3 Cree Q5-WC 230-Lm LED Bike/Flashlight to XP-G. But looking at the difference between this XP-G light and my Superfire W-3, I have decided not to.